By Dave Conde
It has become a hip thing now for celebrities to do a guest spot on Sesame Street. Some of the celebrities grew up watching Sesame Street. Some of them are trying to impress their kids. But what of the viewers? Are the little kids watching next season really going to appreciate watching Ricky Gervais talk to Elmo? Or is it more for the parents watching, or the celebrities themselves?
Robert DeNiro
Do kids know who Robert DeNiro is? Do they fall down laughing when Elmo does his "Are you lookin' at Elmo? You must be lookin' at Elmo because Elmo's the only one here" bit? No, but it is kinda cool to see Bobby D teaching Elmo to act.
Patrick Stewart
There's nothing kids love more than old, bald guys reciting pseudo-Shakespeare.
Conan O'Brien
First, no children should be up late enough to know who he is. Second, is this the man to whom we are entrusting the Tonight Show? Johnny would play along with gags, but he would never do a crappy dog impression. I'm just sayin'...
Larry King
This will give little kids nightmares.
Lou Rawls
In addition to appearing in skits, many celebrities have appeared to recite the alphabet. In this early clip, we see Lou Rawls singing the alphabet. According to Wikipedia, (and I can't be bothered to research it further) Rawls declined the use of cue cards until he forgot the order of the letters. True or not, it looks like he needs more than a few frantic glances off screen to get through the song.
Arthur Ashe
Tennis great Arthur Ashe recites the alphabet while hitting a tennis ball, which is somewhat fitting because that is what he excelled at.
Jackie Robinson
Color barrier breaking baseball star Jackie Robinson says the alphabet while standing and staring into the camera. Because as good as he was at baseball, no one could beat him at standing and staring.
James Earl Jones
Maybe not as good at standing and staring, James Earl Jones can't be beat for enunciation.
Richard Pryor
Watching this, it's impossible to shake the feeling that at any moment Pryor will start swearing.
Ray Charles
Ray shows them all how it's done. It's not just the alphabet, it's music appreciation.
James Taylor
Back in the day, Sesame Street actually had musical guests. Check out James Taylor up on the roof.
Cab Calloway
Ain't no way the kids watching this fully appreciated the fact that Cab Calloway was singing for them. But this is exactly the kind of thing we need our kids exposed to if we don't want them to grow up to think that American Idol is high art.
Johnny Cash
When you are looking for a role model, look no farther than Johnny Cash. It makes sense when you pair him with Oscar the Grouch.
Stevie Wonder
One of the keys to Sesame Street's success is that it doesn't needlessly talk down to children. This performance could easily have been from Saturday Night Live. It's classic '70's Stevie Wonder as it was and as it should be.
--Dave Conde walks this Sesame Street, on the boulevard of broken dreams. Send your furry monsters and comments to: [email protected]
Recent Comments